Lock keeper



Patented July 6, 19.54

UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful burglar proof keeper for locks, often referred to as night locks of the Yale type.

One of the objects of the present invention is to produce a lock keeper that is exceedingly simple in construction although strong and durable, effi-cient in operation and highly desirable as a deterrent to an unauthorized person desiring to retract the lock bolt from the outside by means of an instrument other than a key.

Another object of this invention is to so construct the lock keeper that several screws may be employed to assist in securing the keeper to a door jamb an `appreciable distance from the inner edge of the latter a-nd additional screws used to securely fasten said keeper to said inner edge of the door jamb.

Another object of the invention is to produce a lock keeper structure including a bolt receiving housing having an angular back wall that Will fit the usual trim of a door frame thereby often eliminating the necessity of having to out a recess to set in the keeper.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lock keeper with an adjustable sliding tongue.

or plate projecting beyond the face plate of the keeper to function as a barrier in front of a lock bolt across the space between ther front edge of a door and the adjacent face of a door jamb to prevent the insertion of a thin instrument for contact with the lock-bolt to retract the latter.

A still further object of this invention is to produce a lock keeper of unique formation made principally from a stamping of sheet metal;

With the above and other objects in view this invention consistsk of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same I will describe its construction in detail referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of a door and its frame illustrating an application of my improved lock keeper.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lock keeper looking at the front of the face plate, a portion of the latter being broken away to illustrate details of construction. o

Fig, 3 is a rear view of the lock keeper.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section thereof on the line 5 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 5--5 on Fig. 3.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied III represents the lock keeper constituting my invention and which cooperates withthe bolt II of a suita-ble lock I2 mounted on the inside face ofa door I3 hinged in a door frame I4 so that the free or forward edge I5 of said door, When the latter is closed, lies adjacentthe outside face and inner edge of the door jamb I6. The closing movement of the door is limited by the stop II, usually a strip of suitable material attached to the outside face of the door jamb and the frame is, generally, completed by finishing strips, the inside one of which is depicted at I8. While the finishing strips overlap the edges of the jamb they are invariably slightly set back from the outside face of said jamb and said iinishing strips are usually formed with generally angular receding forward edges as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The lock keeper is produced from any suitable material but, by preference, it is formed as a stamping from sheet metal fashioned to provide a face plate I9 from the outer end of which is, bent the angular rearwardly extending receding end wall 2II, the corner between the face plate and said end wall forming the strike 2I, after whichY the material is further bent in the same general direction at an obtuse angle to provide the angular back Wall 22 and then provided with a return bend to form a second angular end wall -23 and finally the material is bent parallel to the face plate I9 to constitute a lip 24 which is fixed to the rear surface of the face plate in any suitable manner, as by welding. Wings are also bent up from-the side edges of the face plate to form side walls 25. The end, back and'side walls with a portion of the face plate provide a housing forA the sliding tongue to be presently completely described.

'Ihat one of the essential features may be fully understood the face plate I9 must be considered as including a'body portion 26 within the area occupied by the housing and an extension or tailpiece 2I in which are formed several holes 28 for the reception of screws 29, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, that are projected into the door jamb I3 from the outer face thereof.

In the body portion 26 of the face plate I9 is formed a lock bolt receiving socket or opening 36 and the opposite side edges of the socket have aligned notches 3! therein. Within the housing is a sliding tongue 32 tracked in said notches for projection for various distances beyond the outside surface of the face plate I9 and braced by back-up shoulders provided by the notches 3i. At the rear or inner end of the tongue is a right angle flange 33 into which is threaded a screw 34 projected through and revolvably mounted in the back wall 22. This screw is held againstlongitudinal movement by its head on the outside of the back Wall 22 and a suitable collar 35 on said screw at the inside of said back wall.

To rmly fasten the lock keeper in place the end walls 20 and 23 have aligned holes 36 and 31, respectively, to receive screws 38 which are projected through companion pairs of said holes and into the door jamb It from the inner edge of the latter The holes 31 are slightly larger than the holes 36 to permit of limited lateral movements of the screws 38 whereby they may be directed into solid portions of the door jamb should the holes be in a plane too close to one of the faces of said door jamb. As plainly shown in Fig. 4 the individuel holes of each set of holes 36 and 31 are located on opposite sides of the sliding tongue 32 so that operation of the latter will not be interfered with.

It is a well known fact that burglars and sneak thieves often insert thin instruments into the space between the forward edge of the door and the outside face of the door jamb, even if it is necessary to remove the stop, to surreptitiously retract the lock bolt. At least thisv type of thievery can be prevented by use of my lock keeper. In practice, the lock keeper is assembled on the door jamb and because of the extension portion 21 of the face plate the screws 29 projected through the three holes 23 will enter said door jamb from the outer face thereof a considerable distance from the edges of the same, particularly the inner edge. The housing, especially the angular end wall 23, extends over the inner edge of the door jamb and the screws 28 can be projected through the holes 3S and 31 into the edge of said door jamb to reduce to a minimum any tendency of the body portion or housing end of the lock keeper being forced out of line and to more securely fasten said lock keeper in place. The angle position of the end wall 23 makes it unnecessary, generally speaking, to cut back into the face'of the trim although it may sometimes be essential to notch out a small part of the edge of the trim. After the lock keeper is mounted in place the sliding tongue 32 is adjusted, to project its outer end across the space between the front edge of the door and the outer face of the door jamb, by turning the screw (it in the proper direction, The tongue will then be in a position to act as a barrier against contacting the lock bolt with any instrument, while the door is closed, which might be projected through the space between the door and jamb or frame in the region of the lock.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the sliding tongue can be readily adjusted by projection or retraction until said tongue extends substantially completely across any space between the forward edge of the door and its jamb, which space may vary due to the class of workmanship, settling or warping of the building parts, or the diierence in sizes between the door and its frame. When the lock keeper is installed and the sliding tongue properly adjusted the door can be opened and closed as usual without interference from said tongue.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

1. A lock keeper including a face plate having an opening in its surface adjacent one end to receive the bolt of a lock, which bolt engages an edge of the face plate which deiines part of said opening, and said face plate further provided with notches adjacent a second edge which deines another part of said opening, said face plate having screw receiving holes at the end opposite to the end having the ybolt receiving opening, a housing positioned on the back of said face plate adjacent to said bolt receiving opening and forming a cover for the end of the bolt which extends through the bolt receiving opening, said housing including outer and inner angular walls converging from the face plate, a back wall forming an obtuse angle with the outer wall and a right angle with the inner wall, a tongue within said housing and tracked in the notches for selective projection and retraction relative to the surface of the face plate, a right angle flange on the inner end of said tongue, a screw revolvably mounted in the back wall and having threaded connection with the iiange, and

means to retain the screw against longitudinalA movements whereby rotation thereof will impart longitudinal movements to the tongue.

2. The lock keeper according to claim 1 in combination with wings projecting from the face plate adjacent to the bolt receiving opening and forming the side edges of the said housing.

3. The lock keeper according to claim 1 wherein the outer and inner walls of the housing have aligned screw receiving holes therethrough.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which the holes through the inner Wall are larger than those through the outer wall.

5. A lock keeper produced as a stamping from sheet metal and comprising a face plate having screw receiving holes at one end and a lock bolt receiving opening at the other end with notches in the face place adjacent to the lock bolt receiving opening, an integral housing on the back of said face plate adjacent to the lock bolt receiving opening and consisting of converging inner and outer end walls, an angular back wall forming an obtuse angle with the outer end wall and a right angle with the inner end wall and also including side walls, said end walls having aligned screw receiving holes therethrough, a tongue within the housing and tracked in the notches, said tongue having a flange at its inner end, a screw rotatably mounted in the back wall of the housing and threaded into the flange, and means to hold said screw against longitudinal movements whereby rotation thereof will propel and repel said tongue.

6. A lock keeper including a face plate having an opening to receive the bolt of a lock, which bolt engages an edge of said face plate which dennes part of said opening, said face plate further provided wth notches adjacent to a second edge of said face plate which defines another part of said opening, a sliding tongue tracked in said notches for projection and retraction relative to said face plate, a housing formed as a part of said face plate and located in back thereof and including a back wall which is exposed within a building when the keeper is mounted on a door frame, and a screw anchored against longitudinal movements on said back wall and threaded in said tongue to impart longitudinal movements to the latter and having an end exposed for access thereto even while a door is within the door frame.

References ited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,)0l,082 Samuelson Aug. 22, 1911 1,793,115 Model Feb. 17, 1931 1,322,424 Scott Sept. 8, 1931 1,844,459 Brandon Feb. 9, 1932 1,913,444 Herdeg June 13, 1933 

